• Background
    • NeXtMidas is not and does not wish to be a GIS (Geographic Information Service) application.
      • Maps and imagery provide a context for other data being plotted.
      • No support for imagery analysis.
    • A brief history of maps and imagery in NeXtMidas:
      Pre 2004 - "The Dark Ages"
      The only maps available were Type 1999 files (like world.prm).
      When the user zoomed in they got the infamous "black screen of death" and lost their bearings. (This can still be seen when running XGEOPLOT in X-Midas.)
      2004 - MAP Option Tree
      Directly plots various NGA map and image formats.
      Uses the OpenMap libraries for reading the files, but plots them in the NeXtMidas PLOT.
      Problem - Need full set of NGA data on local disk or over NFS.
      2005 - LayerGMap
      Added a NeXtMidas client for the GoogleMaps service.
      Advantage - Can plot maps without local copy of data.
      Problem - Requires internet connection, Google-owned server, server software not available for purchase (as of 2006).
      2006 - LayerNMS
      A two-week effort to build and install a prototype system, called NeXtEarth, that would provide a client-server architecture similar to GoogleMaps but using the MAP option tree for the server.
      Advantage - Have "ownership" of the server installation.
      Problem - Custom protocol, limited feature set.
      2007 - LayerWMS
      Uses the industry-standard OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) protocol.
      NeXtMidas client can connect to any number of third-party servers.
      Advantage - Industry standard, supported by many organizations, COTS and GOTS servers available.